The only constant is change: Lions Lions on redefining themselves

Boston’s Lions Lions have taken a huge step forward with their band this month. After parting ways with their previous label, Century Media, which assisted with the release of the band’s sophomore full-length To Carve Our Names, Lions Lions decided to release their new six-song EP, Changing The Definition, independently.

Vocalist Joshua Herzer, who replaced the spot of original singer Danny Poulin after the band released From What We Believe before To Carve Our Names, says the album’s title is self-explanatory. This would be the first release without the band’s original bassist, Jon Kay, who is now replaced by Chris Pulgarin. In fact, the only original member of Lions Lions is guitarist Brandon Davis.

“Most of the band lineup is different, which tends to happen to our band quite a bit actually,” Herzer says. “Every release we do, we’re sort of a different band. This record is the first one we’ve done without a label involved, too.”

After becoming an independent band, Lions Lions recorded Changing The Definition in their house and it would allow the band to be completely open to any idea they had. Herzer says the freedom gave the band a chance to make the songs all of the members thought were what Lions Lions should be.

“This album is sort of the purest form of a Lions Lions release,” Herzer says. “No one had any outside opinion as to what gets put on the album, which is pretty cool. This album is just songs we wrote exactly the way we wrote them.”

Lions Lions embarked on a short run with Too Late The Hero last spring, which assisted with the funding for the new EP. Herzer says it was important the band were able to raise enough money on their own for Changing The Definition so they wouldn’t have to resort to a Kickstarter campaign.

The EP features guest vocals from Garret Rapp from the Color Morale on “Standards” and Fredua Boakye from Bad Rabbits on “Over With,” as well as a song with Herzer’s screaming vocals and a poppy acoustic track, all factors leading to mixed opinions from their fans. But it’s something the band have already done in the past and is something Herzer says Lions Lions have always been attempting: change.

“We’ve always sort of flip-flopped and just have done whatever the songs need,” Herzer says. “That’s what we do. There’s one screaming part on the new EP and then for the next full-length, who knows. There’s no formula for our tracks and we just do whatever we want.”

While the band have enough material to record a full-length at the moment, they are going to embark on a U.S. headlining tour March 26 with Everyone Dies In Utah, One Year Later and Trophy Wives and give the new songs the support they need.

Geoff Burns is an online and print contributor for Substream Magazine. He is also a news poster and feature writer for Highlight Magazine and a news writer for Infectious Magazine. He would love if you could support all three. He was told to "Make people remember who you are" from Tyler Joseph (twenty | one | pilots) in the upstairs of a bar in Bowling Green, Ohio and it has never escaped his mind since.

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